West Virginia Appeals Court Dismisses Ridgeline Permit Challenges

The West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals dismissed environmental groups’ challenges to a turbine permit for Fundamental Data LLC’s Ridgeline project on Aug. 26. The court cited jurisdictional grounds and did not decide whether the state’s emissions review was adequate.

The West Virginia Air Quality Board upheld the permit on Feb. 5, 2026, with an added performance-testing condition. The later court orders did not review the permit’s merits.

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) issued the construction permit Aug. 15, 2025, for a turbine power facility off U.S. 48 near Thomas. It sets annual emissions limits, including 99.35 tons of nitrogen oxides and 58.89 tons of sulfur dioxide. Those figures are permitted maximums, not measurements of actual emissions.

The permit lists maximum design heat input of 5,649.6 million British thermal units per hour on natural gas and 4,503.4 million British thermal units per hour on diesel. It does not state the facility’s electrical output in megawatts.

Fundamental Data describes Ridgeline as a project for artificial intelligence, cloud computing and enterprise systems in Tucker County, near Davis and Thomas. The company’s responsible official, Casey L. Chapman, said a full buildout “would be thousands of acres.” The project’s final footprint has not been specified.

Local recreation operators have raised concerns about industrial development, lighting and the region’s dark skies. “People want dark skies here,” said Chip Chase, co-founder of White Grass Ski Touring Center. Chapman said, “Crews need proper lighting to operate and maintain equipment safely.”

Fundamental Data projects thousands of construction jobs, more than 500 long-term jobs and billions of dollars in private investment. Those are company projections.

A 2025 West Virginia law exempts certified microgrid districts and high-impact data centers from specified local rules, including some lighting and noise ordinances. The state’s data center certification program is part of that policy framework.